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Luo Jun's concerns are not without merit...

A Tier A Mission, discovered more than a decade ago. According to Caroline's testimony at the time, she found a body here that was at least thirty years old, and that wasn't even the oldest corpse in the maze... By that calculation, this maze has existed for at least half a century, and no one in the entire cultivation world has ever been known to have solved it.

If collecting the Ultimate Treasures of the Black and White Shops were enough to leave this place, there's no reason why no one has succeeded yet. While the condition is demanding, it's not actually that difficult to discover. The existence of the White Shop is clearly stated in the mission rules, and the existence of the Black Shop can be learned from the White Shop once you obtain the Gold Ingot. Both shops' catalogs can be viewed for free. Once you can see these two catalogs, it's natural to figure out how to break the deadlock.

If it's normal for no one to succeed in several rounds of missions, then even if it only opens once a year, that's fifty rounds, with hundreds of Cultivators entering. Surely not a single one has succeeded?

In fact, according to statistics, three to five hundred Tier A Mission are launched worldwide every month, which is about five thousand missions a year. The same type of Tier A Mission often launches multiple times a year, especially those that have not been completed before, which launch more frequently. It's just that people who have entered before will not enter again.

Judging from this, at least several thousand people have entered this Endless Maze. Those who reach the A rank are all strong. With so many people and no one ever getting out, this mission is definitely not that simple!

But where does the problem lie?

Luo Jun didn't know; there was too little information available, and no one else could figure it out either.

"If you ask me, let's not dwell on that for now," Old Yuan comforted him. "At least we have a glimmer of hope now; let's treat it as a backup plan. Our most urgent task is to get back to Origin and rejoin the others."

With that, Old Yuan restarted the Origin Point Pointer and continued forward, finally returning to the Origin after more than four hours.

"No one else has returned yet..."

The familiar circular room before them seemed exactly the same as when they left, unchanged.

But by all accounts, they've been gone for five or six days.

"The others don't have Origin Point Pointer," Ma Qiao said. "They might not be able to get back even if they wanted to."

"Not necessarily." Luo Jun shook his head. "Do you remember the Hall of Choice we passed through when we left? After passing through there, our retreat was blocked. If that path were still there, we wouldn't have taken such a long detour to come back."

"Do you think you can remember the way back if the Hall of Choice isn't sealed off?" Ma Qiao scoffed, looking completely unconvinced.

"You didn't memorize it?" This time it was Luo Jun's turn to be surprised. "Aside from the part where we were running around frantically with the map, which was a bit rushed, I carefully memorized the route we took before. I wouldn't say there weren't any mistakes, but figuring out how to get back to Origin shouldn't be a problem."

"What? We've been walking for two days..." Ma Qiao said in surprise.

"This is a maze, shouldn't we at least try to memorize the way?" Old Yuan said. "Besides, this Endless Maze is mainly large, the routes aren't actually that complicated. Cultivating at the Body Refinement Realm doesn't just strengthen the body, it also improves memory. Memorizing these routes shouldn't be too difficult, right?"

"This..." Now it was Ma Qiao's turn to be embarrassed.

Luo Jun nodded. "The other couples all chose to act alone, so they probably understand the importance of remembering the route even more. I believe they can definitely come back if they want to."

Seeing the old man and the child's nonchalant attitude, Ma Qiao was utterly speechless. He turned to Sun Xiaowei beside him and asked, "You remembered that too?"

Sun Xiaowei was taken aback by his question. Her eyes darted around, and she stammered, "Ta-da... of course!"

Ma Qiao looked incredulous. "You're kidding, aren't you?"

"You... you can't drag me into this!" Sun Xiaowei ran directly behind Luo Jun: "I knew my junior would remember the way, so I focused my energy on other things... Don't forget, we relied on my robot to explore all the traps and obstacles along the way. I also contributed to the team!"

Ma Qiao looked at the three of them. Luo Jun was the strategist, Old Yuan was the Combat Power, and Sun Xiaowei could create robots to scout ahead. So, he was the only useless one?

"Alright, I'll send another message to confirm." Old Yuan took out another Talisman Paper, lit it, and sent a message.

"We have arrived at the Origin. Please reply if you are certain you can return."

A few minutes after the message was sent, they received three replies, one from Mao Xintong, one from Zhuge Zi, and one from Ling Jian.

Mao Xintong and Zhuge Zi said they would return, but Ling Jian said they didn't need supplies and wanted to continue exploring.

"Has Li Ying not replied?" Old Yuan was still somewhat worried about his former student.

"Maybe they didn't see it?" Luo Jun comforted him. "They might be in a hurry to get on their way. How about we send another one later?"

Old Yuan shook his head. "The Talisman Paper is limited, we can't waste it... I'll double-check it after the two-day deadline."

And so, the four of them began to wait there.

Just as Luo Jun said, the other groups also remembered the way back, but without a pointer indicating the shortest route, they were much slower than them. While no one was returning, Luo Jun explored the area around the Origin. He didn't go far, just looked at the surrounding terrain. To avoid being trapped in places like the Hall of Choice, he tried to avoid any unusual situations.

Finally, after waiting at the Origin for about a day, Mao Xintong returned.

The capable woman looked noticeably thinner, and her somewhat tattered clothes and tired expression suggested that she hadn't had an easy time these past few days.

Exploring alone means having to do everything yourself, even sleeping without anyone watching over you, living in constant fear.

Old Yuan immediately gave her a portion of the supplies, and Mao Xintong, disregarding her image, opened the package and started eating.

"Slow down, don't choke..." Old Yuan advised, "There's water, drink more water to help you choke..."

After eating and drinking her fill, Mao Xintong finally breathed a sigh of relief, "Sorry... I haven't eaten for two days."

Although Cultivators have stronger physiques than ordinary people and are supported by vital energy, they must still follow the Law of Conservation of energy. Their vital energy is generated by themselves, and they can do more work on the outside than ordinary people. Theoretically, they also have a higher demand for energy, so they should all be big eaters.

However, cultivating vital energy not only enhances output but also intake. The strengthening of the body by the Foundation Body Refinement Realm greatly increases their efficiency in utilizing energy from food. The circulation of vital energy also assists digestion and absorption, allowing them to maintain sufficient energy to sustain activities even if they eat the same amount of food as ordinary people.

Even as their cultivation level increases, their methods of absorbing energy also evolve. However, even at their Peak, they are still at the level of mortals and cannot live without the need for food. Legend has it that upon reaching the Ascension Realm, one can abstain from grains and become a true Earthly Immortal. For beings at this level, eating has transformed from a necessity of life into a form of entertainment.

"It's alright, is this enough?" Looking at the wrappers scattered on the ground, Luo Jun took out another supply pack. "If not, here's more."

"That's enough..." Mao Xintong waved her hand. "You should leave some too. This maze is too difficult... After I left, I didn't find anything on the first day. On the second day, I found a relic, exchanged it for some supplies, and managed to last for three days. Finally, we ran out of food, and after that, we didn't encounter any more supplies."

Hearing his story, Sun Xiaowei and Ma Qiao secretly rejoiced at their good fortune. If they hadn't chosen that shop door in the Hall of Choice, they wouldn't have had so many supplies, and their fate would probably have been similar to Mao Xintong's... no, maybe even earlier. After all, there were four of them, and one supply wouldn't be enough...

"A relic?" Luo Jun asked curiously, "Is one relic enough to exchange for three days' worth of supplies?"

"Not enough..." Mao Xintong shook her head. "The food from the relics wasn't much, only slightly more than what you all received. I've been rationing it for three days. But besides food, they also gave us some weapons and medicine. The rules say it's random, I don't know if everyone else got the same..."

"Huh? Wait a minute..." Mao Xintong looked at Luo Jun with some surprise. "Don't you know? Didn't you exchange for the relics?"

Luo Jun shook his head, Mao Xintong asked in surprise, "Then where did the food you gave me come from?"

"We've found a store," Ma Qiao said. "Didn't I text you?"

"The message only said you found a clue about the exit in the store. Didn't you say you couldn't afford it?" Mao Xintong frowned. "I thought you were short of money. Do stores also have supplies?"

"We can get money by killing monsters and finding treasure chests. We've bought a lot of supplies," Sun Xiaowei said with a smile. "Sister Mao, why don't you join us? It'll be good to have someone to look after you."

The error-free version can be read at 69 Book Bar! 6=9+shuba is the first site to publish this novel.

"Even with supplies, every additional person means more consumption." Mao Xintong was still somewhat hesitant. "Besides, having another route increases our chances of getting out."

"Don't worry, we've found a sustainable way to resupply, and maybe we've even found a way to leave!" Sun Xiaowei said confidently.

"A way out?" Mao Xintong was even more shocked. Then, she heard Sun Xiaowei tell her about the Black Shop.

"There really is strength in numbers... I was too arrogant." Mao Xintong shook her head. "It seems that as long as we earn enough money and Gold Ingot, we can find a way out."

"It's only a possibility," said Old Yuan. "We remain skeptical of the merchants' claims... especially those of the Black Shop."

"By the way, Sister Mao," Luo Jun asked, "What happened to that monster team that passed through the wall in the message you sent before?"

"Oh right, I almost forgot," Mao Xintong said. "Those monsters are extremely sensitive to sound; they'll be spotted at the slightest noise, so I didn't dare make a sound in the video I sent. I had been following them for a while when I recorded that video, and I couldn't find a way to get around the wall they went into, so I could only send you a message to record it."

"In other words, we don't even know where they ended up?" Old Yuan asked.

Mao Xintong shook her head. "I don't know..."

"What about the direction?" Luo Jun pressed. "Using this as a reference, can you draw their approximate direction of movement?"

As he spoke, he took out paper and pen from the opened supply pack and handed them to Mao Xintong.

"I'll give it a try..." Mao Xintong took the paper, drew a circle in the center, and then began to draw her route. "I remember after I went out, I walked straight for a while, then turned left, walked about a few hundred meters, went upstairs, and then..."

Following her line, they finally arrived at the location where they encountered the monster parade.

"So it seems they were moving like this." She drew an arrow on the paper to indicate the direction the group was heading.

"Of course, it's not necessarily accurate," Mao Xintong said. "Because not every intersection is a right angle, and with so many turns, the angle can easily be off."

Indeed, with just this one arrow and no reference points, it's hard to say where it leads, not to mention the potential for error...

Luo Jun frowned, then his eyes suddenly lit up. He picked up a pen and began to draw on the paper.

This time, he drew the route they took back the day before, but he started from the Origin and drew it backwards.

Ultimately, the route ended at one point: the Black Shop they had visited earlier.

At this point, looking at the line drawn by Mao Xintong, although it wasn't directly aligned, it was roughly pointing towards the store, and the location where Mao Xintong eventually lost track of the shop wasn't far from this point.

"This is..." Mao Xintong exclaimed in surprise, "Where is this..."

"The Black Shop ..." Luo Jun frowned. "Of course, we both drew this from memory, so there are bound to be some discrepancies. It's very possible that this route is far from the shop and has nothing to do with it at all. But it's also very possible that... the place you lost track of last was only a wall away from this shop!"

"It can't be such a coincidence, can it?" Sun Xiaowei asked in surprise. "You mean those monsters came for this shop?"

"That possibility cannot be ruled out." Luo Jun nodded. "Besides, have you forgotten that the Void Pass sold in that Black Shop allows you to pass through walls in a maze?"

"That's right!" The group suddenly realized, "If that group was using the Void Pass, then it makes sense that they were heading towards the shop!"

Luo Jun nodded, then looked at Mao Xintong: "Sister Mao, you said before that those guys are very sensitive and afraid of being overheard... That means you were discovered by them. What are the consequences?"

"Actually, it wasn't me," Mao Xintong explained. "Before I discovered these monsters, I had just alerted an Armored Monster. I was acting alone, and with the principle of not alerting the enemy as much as possible, I planned to retreat and quietly go around it. But the noise made by the Armored Monster suddenly attracted a large monster, which smashed the Armored Monster to pieces with a single hammer blow."

"I didn't dare to make any rash moves at the time, but out of curiosity, I quietly followed. I discovered that the huge monster made its way through many twists and turns before finally finding the group. I joined them and started walking through the walls with them..."

(End of this chapter)